Thomas William Valente

Thomas William Valente is a Professor in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California. His research focuses on social networks, health behavior change, and program evaluation, with over 250 peer-reviewed articles. He leads the Institute for Prevention Research and the Division of Health Behavior Research. His work integrates mathematical models, network analysis, and health communication to address public health challenges like tobacco use, HIV prevention, and healthcare disparities.

Key research areas include diffusion of innovations, network interventions, and the role of social networks in health policy. He has developed tools like the R package NetdiffuseR for network modeling. Current projects include randomized trials of social network interventions for cardiovascular risk reduction in immigrant communities and leveraging networks to combat misinformation during pandemics.

Valente has advised numerous public health programs and collaborates globally on projects such as the STRENGTHS hypertension referral network study in Kenya. His expertise spans community coalitions, policy implementation, and integrating mental health services within primary care systems.